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Parnassi musici

(on period instruments)

 

 It was sheer joy in the vibrancy and virtuosity of baroque music that brought together the musicians of Parnassi musici in 1990 and, since then, has inspired the ensemble to build its repertoire around German and Italian trio sonatas.

 Time and time again, Parnassi musici surprises its audiences with its novel programmes and superb musical standards. Their own transcription of the Goldberg Variations in honour of the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, for instance, allows the listener to forget that the work was intended for the harpsichord—and has nonetheless had the label “authentic” bestowed upon it by the press. 

 Or the ensemble brings music back home to cities such as Vienna (or towns such as Bad Mergentheim, for that matter)—music created there, but long forgotten, and now revived by Parnassi musici. The reactions in the press are enthusiastic, with  Die Presse Wien, for example, praising the ensemble for its “brilliance,” “loving attention to detail,” and “passion.”

 On occasion, Parnassi musici has indulged its “joy of repetition,” joining forces with tubist and performance artist Klaus Burger to combine the repetitions and improvisations of baroque forms with didgeridoo and tuba music and achieving what the Badische Zeitung termed “a concertante exchange of blows between mutually attracting opposites.” 

 It is exactly this juxtaposition of the old and the new which particularly fascinates the ensemble. Their most recent programme in this vein, entitled „rondo italiano“, combines music by Domenico Scarlatti and Luciano Berio‘s Sequenze.

 With Parnassi musici, it is entirely possible for a Bach partita for solo violin to become a work that not only incorporates the performance space but also employs two violinists, sometimes at the same time—all without altering a single note.

 In short, it is a very special mix that sets Parnassi musici apart. On one hand, the ensemble wins over its listeners with the creativity of its musical interpretations. On the other hand, there is the consummate professionalism of its four players, all of whom bring to the ensemble their training in modern symphony orchestras. All of this adds up to the “new” sound that Parnassi musici brings to period music—expertise in baroque performance practice, coupled with imagination, daring, and the delight of making music.

 

 Translation: Barbara Kamienska